Ba'ath Brigades

The Ba'ath Brigades are a volunteer militia of mostly Sunni Muslim members of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party, formed in the summer of 2012 during the Syrian Civil War. After the takeover of much of eastern Aleppo, Syrian Regional Branch Assistant Secretary-General Hilal Hilal formed the brigades to guard government buildings and institutions in Aleppo, but their numbers grew to 7,000 in December 2013, and its units appeared not only in Aleppo, but also in Latakia Governorate and Tartus Governorate, with some logistical units being deployed to Rif Dimashq Governorate.